LA
JOLLA, Calif. - Come hell
or high water, CSUB cross country Head Coach Robert Boyles wasn't going to make it through the season with his
natural hair color in place. Using his tonsorial hue as a motivating factor,
the Roadrunners gave perhaps their best team performance of the season Saturday
at the Triton Cross Country Classic, earning both a fifth place finish and the
right to color their coach's hair blue and gold for their efforts.
"Well, they're
going to paint my hair, but they earned it," said Boyles, who narrowly escaped
the same fate when his team lost a similar bet by mere seconds in a win over
Pepperdine two weeks ago. "This was our first 6K of the season, and, really the
first 6K ever for several members of our team, so I told them a fifth place
finish and I'd let them do it. They really stepped up today. I'm proud of their
effort and will gladly accept my fate."
With 120 points,
CSUB earned its fifth place finish, trailing only Cal Poly Pomona (54), San
Diego State (78), Central Arizona (102) and host UCSD (111). Others in the
field included Big West Conference foes UC Irvine (8th, 198) and
Pacific (10th, 301).
Individually, the
top Roadrunner tandem of Arianna Celis
and Cassey Glassey continued to
shine, finishing third and fourth respectively at 22:34.5 and 22:41.8.
"Ari and Cassey
worked back and forth well together," said Boyles. "At about three miles, Cassey
fell back a little, but she picked it up again. I was also very
happy with the way Cecilia ran today. She's really more of a middle
distance/sprinter type and so sometimes saves too much for the end, but this
distance on a really tough course was a good experience for her."
The 'Runners will
take two weeks off before heading to Fullerton for the Titan Invitational Oct.
22. Then it will be off to Oregon and the 6K course at the NCAA Division I West
Regional in Eugene on Nov. 13.
TEAM SCORES
1.
Cal Poly Pomona 54; 2. San Diego State 78; 3. Central Arizona 102; 4. UC San
Diego 111; 5. CSUB 120; 6. CSU San
Bernardino 137; 7. Regis Univ. 142; 8. UC Irvine 198; 9. UCSD Alumni 246; 10.
Pacific 301; 11. Western New Mexico 317
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
1.
Violah Lagat (CA) 22:08.4; 2. Marianne Hogan (SDSU) 22:24.5; 3. Arianna Celis (CSUB) 22:34.5; 4. Cassey Glassey (CSUB) 22:41.8; 5.
Tiffany Dinh (CPP) 22:46.0. OTHERS
INCLUDED: 24. Cecilia Lopez (CSUB) 24:06.4; 34. Monica Guzman (CSUB) 24:31.2;
61. Melissa Cruz (CSUB) 25:36.8.
